Russian Parliament Approved First Reading of Crypto Industry Bill

By
Stefan

Published
7 months
ago

As demand for cryptocurrencies grows, need for regulation also grows. Like everything, there are pros and cons as to why digital assets should be subject to regulation. Government regulations could be a part of the problem or a part of the solution. When done well, they are not against the crypto space, but part of the dream to create a long-term blockchain and crypto space!

Definition and Regulation of Digital Financial Assets

Regulations of cryptocurrency industry are coming to Russia! On Tuesday, May 22nd, State Duma approved the first reading of new laws regulating the crypto industry. This important draft purposes to regulate creation, issuance, storage, and circulation of digital financial assets.

Anatoly Aksakov , Chairman of the Financial Market Committee, who presented the bill at the plenary meeting said: "by defining the new concepts we will to some extent provide legal protection for those who use these tools, since the very understanding of crypto-tools as property already provides an opportunity to protect their property rights to a certain extent in legal disputes.”

The new bill was approved almost unanimously with 410 deputies voting for the bill and only one against.

The official statement about the bill informs us that, "these specifications determine that both cryptocurrency and tokens constitute property, identifying key differences between cryptocurrency and tokens on the basis that there is a single issuer for tokens or a variety of issuers and miners for the cryptocurrency, as well as emission goals."

This is very important detail because digital financial assets are about to finally have its legal basis. Also, the clear legal distinction between cryptocurrency and token was much needed.

ICO Regulations

Amongst other things such as smart contracts and mining, new bill also deals with Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). The legislative initiative established the sequence of actions necessary for the implementation of the procedure for issuing tokens. It is decided that the release of the tokens is carried out on the basis of a public offer, the composition of the information is determined by the bill and the need for disclosure of additional information by the person issuing tokens.

Any person willing to launch an ICO in Russia now will have to fulfill certain important requirements. This will surely minimize the chance of scam ICOs emerging and erase a certain level of uncertainty in the field.

Conclusion

The enactment has gained mixed opinions from government authorities. There is a certain level of distrust towards regulations of the crypto sphere but it is nonetheless an important step towards creating a safe and rewarding environment. After the initial criticism Igor Sudets, a member of the Duma’s expert panel on digital economy and blockchain admitted that “it is important that cryptocurrency and tokens are included in the legal field of the Russian Federation.”

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